Volume pot stopped working!?

[papersoul]

This odd, no? I have a 1994 PRS CE-22 and it is all stock. I recently install a new treble bleed circuit, cap and resister. I also replaced the stock cap with an Orange Drop. So today I notice I can't completely roll off volume. I roll down just fine but there is always some volume....it never shuts off. Bad pot?

 

[papersoul]

Re: Volume pot stopped working!?

Maybe I never noticed before and this is the nature of treble bleed circuits? I say this because I installed the same circuits in my LP and SG and I have the same result....it gets quiet, almost all the way off, not totally. Close enough to work and the clarity I gain from the treble bleed is great.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Volume pot stopped working!?

Poor grounding of volue pot?? That same symptom I've had when I forgot to connect a volume pot ground

 

[aleclee]

Re: Volume pot stopped working!?

I'd suspect that you're not wiring it up quite right. I've owned a slew of guitars with treble bleed caps and never had one that didn't roll off to zero volume.

 

[papersoul]

Re: Volume pot stopped working!?

Any diagrams? Am I a sucky solderer?

 

[papersoul]

Re: Volume pot stopped working!?

OK, I will open up the cavity and unsolder and then rewire everything and see if it is OK.

I opened up the cavity of my PRS and it looks solid. It is all stock, all I did was add thee treble circuit. Last year I swapped out pickups and maybe I did something then.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Volume pot stopped working!?

My 1993 PRS Custom (24) has always had a slight signal leak when the volume pot is rolled right down.

As a rogue salesman might say, "They all do that, sir."

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Volume pot stopped working!?

I'd double check for the correct wiring, and if it's still a problem after that, I'd put a new, good-quality pot in.

 

[Chris of Arabia]

Re: Volume pot stopped working!?

I had similar symptoms on a friends Singlecut a few months back - it turned out as a bad pot. Whilst it was reading 500k on the outer two lugs, the central wiper lug was intermittently open circuit with the other two. One pot change later, all was fine.

 

[papersoul]

Re: Volume pot stopped working!?

My 1993 PRS Custom (24) has always had a slight signal leak when the volume pot is rolled right down.

As a rogue salesman might say, "They all do that, sir."

This might be the case....I checked all my guitars....and everyone does that!!! Most of my guitars are stock or CTS Audio taper amd none are completely off swhen at 1. Close enough, so who cares....still performs perfectly....and you only hear anything if I strum the guitar...otherwise you would think it was off.

 

[papersoul]

Re: Volume pot stopped working!?

I did some more research and apparently it is common for pots to have some bleed but nothing to.worry about. I just wish my PRS Dragon bridge cleaned up better....or maybe it is my Shiva.

 

[Gypsyblue]

Re: Volume pot stopped working!?

This odd, no? I have a 1994 PRS CE-22 and it is all stock. I recently install a new treble bleed circuit, cap and resister. I also replaced the stock cap with an Orange Drop. So today I notice I can't completely roll off volume. I roll down just fine but there is always some volume....it never shuts off. Bad pot?

As our Prez said: "That's the point - isn't it?"

It's not a bad pot.

A treble bleed circuit allows treble frequencies to jump right across the input of the pot to the output of the pot and down your guitar cord and into your amp without them being attenuated by the pot. In other words, your treble frequencies are always "full on".

 

[papersoul]

Re: Volume pot stopped working!?

As our Prez said: "That's the point - isn't it?"

It's not a bad pot.

A treble bleed circuit allows treble frequencies to jump right across the input of the pot to the output of the pot and down your guitar cord and into your amp without them being attenuated by the pot. In other words, your treble frequencies are always "full on".

I guess that is it! THANKS! I mean, I was just wondering, it is not a bad thing....I mean when I roll it all the way down, it is dead silent unless I strum or something and then yhou can tell it is not all the way off. So, I guess this is just normal to get a little bit of signal when using a treble bleed. I love it though because roll off stays clear all the way down. Thanks!

 

[papersoul]

Re: Volume pot stopped working!?

As our Prez said: "That's the point - isn't it?"

It's not a bad pot.

A treble bleed circuit allows treble frequencies to jump right across the input of the pot to the output of the pot and down your guitar cord and into your amp without them being attenuated by the pot. In other words, your treble frequencies are always "full on".

That is false, I just verified. OK, I went through all my guitars and only my LP Standard and PRS CE-22 have this symptom and it bugs me as it could get worse.My other LP and TG are set up the same way and are dead silent when rolled to xero!

I also noticed another symptoms, when I touch the volume from the top of the guitar, I get lots of static and crackling, but my other guitars do not do this. So two sumptoms, crackling noises or static sounds when touching or applying pressure to the the pot and no complete volume roll off like my other guitars.

This week I will try a new pot and go from there. Worst case, off to the luthier or tech.

 

[papersoul]

Re: Volume pot stopped working!?

Just did a little test. My LP Standard has the same wiring for nexk as bridge, treble bleed. The neck volume is fine, the bridge has the leak!!!

 

[papersoul]

Re: Volume pot stopped working!?

Fxed it! First I removed the treble bleed circuit cause it sucks! Then I heated up all the solder joints to make sure they were solid and used flux....not is GREAT! No leaks anywhere!

 

[scottosan]

Re: Volume pot stopped working!?

As our Prez said: "That's the point - isn't it?"

It's not a bad pot.

A treble bleed circuit allows treble frequencies to jump right across the input of the pot to the output of the pot and down your guitar cord and into your amp without them being attenuated by the pot. In other words, your treble frequencies are always "full on".

What? Thats the most uninformed post I have seen in a while. A matter of fact, when you volume pot is turn all of the way up, the wiper of the pot is shorted to the hot signal completely taking the treble circuit out of the circuit.


OP,

Make sure that you have your output soldered to the middle lug, not the hot lug.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Volume pot stopped working!?

As our Prez said: "That's the point - isn't it?"

It's not a bad pot.

A treble bleed circuit allows treble frequencies to jump right across the input of the pot to the output of the pot and down your guitar cord and into your amp without them being attenuated by the pot. In other words, your treble frequencies are always "full on".

Completely false.

When the pot is all the way down, the wiper makes contact with ground, shunting the ENTIRE SIGNAL TO GROUND. Absolutely nothing passes through the treble bleed circuit at that point.

I've put treble bleed circuits in five guitars so far. Every single one of them is dead silent with the volume on zero.